Here we have Wario, Waluigi and Mona babysitting my online friend JapanAnimeGirl's "strange and different" OCs, the Lower Birth (aka. the Freakshow kids). While Mona's had experience before, the Wario Bros. are in for quite a challenge - a handful, if you will. Half the story is written by my friend as I usually never use the "s" word (you'll see it later on), whilst I did my part as well.
Enjoy the collaboration fic!
DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc. is a property of Nintendo in addition to its other related franchises (i.e. Kid Icarus), whereas everything else is owned by their respective companies. I do, however, own my following characters used or mentioned in this story: Phoebe (WarioWare), and Blaze Bomber (Bomberman).
-WARIO'S BABYSITTING-
In Diamond City, Wario, accompanied by his brother, Waluigi, walked to 9-Volt's house to pick up his girlfriend, Mona. Recently, the Lower Birth, who resided with 9-Volt from time-to-time had gotten on Wario's bad side when Steven had made the comment, "How come a nice-looking girl like Mona is the girlfriend of the villain of every Mario game?" Although Wario knew it was just like Steven to say something without thinking, it was still quite insensitive to say that out loud in front of the people it concerned. If he had to, Wario would choose Valerie as the best one, mainly because she was much like Wario himself: Smart, aggressive, strong, yet can be hot-headed and lacking common sense. Unlike the Italian plumber though, it wasn't her fault; she had never had parents to teach her and thinking, "How can you survive without parents?" did make Wario feel somewhat sympathetic toward the children and, despite how mean he could be, he couldn't be too hard on children.
Also, he had told Waluigi about them, but it was impossible to sum up the Lower Birth in a few words. So, he had just warned him, "They are unique," since the words "strange, weird, and different" offended them. Upon opening the front door, it looked and sounded like a war was going on!
"If you'd kept your ears open and your mouth shut, you might be able to follow directions better!" Valerie snapped.
"How many times do I need to say, 'My bad'? So I suck at cooking, big deal! It's not like you're perfect at it either!" Steven shot back.
The Lower Birth members began to take sides and started attacking each other! 9-Volt, Mona, Phosphora, Pit, Phoebe, and Keyla stood back as to not get killed. Eventually, 5-Volt stalked into the room and screamed so loud, everyone froze. Wario recognized that moment all too well from the times he'd competed with his opponents, let alone Mario, in a battle stage (located in Smash World, the home of Super Smash Bros.), which resembled 9-Volt's bedroom. Anybody unfortunate enough to be caught was knocked far away as though it were a charged-up smash attack. Thankfully, the latter did not happen here, but Wario knew by now to never make 9-Volt's mother angry.
"I hope you children know, since you made this mess, I expect you to clean it up." 5-Volt fixed the Lower Birth with a cold stare.
"Understood. We'll get right on it." Valerie replied, although she was not afraid of 5-Volt, she was as respectful as she could be.
Everyone helped the Lower Birth clean up as 5-Volt called Wario, Waluigi, and Mona into the kitchen to ask them a favor.
"I know this is sudden, but I need someone I can trust." She looked more assuring at Mona than Wario and Waluigi, as she explained her reasons. "I'm taking 9-Volt, Keyla, and Patricia on vacation. Sadly, I can't afford to take the rest of the Lower Birth, which they seem to understand, thank goodness. I know they can take care of themselves, but I'd feel better if you wouldn't mind babysitting them. Wario, Waluigi and Mona are more than welcome to help as well."
"Hey, no problem!" Pit said proudly. "Only thing is, Blaze Bomber's Diamond Arcade World is a bit shorthanded on staff, so Phosphora and I are headed there in Yuffie's place."
"You see," added Phosphora, "Kat and Ana have a show-and-tell in kindergarten, and they've invited Yuffie, so they could tell the class all about her new life in Diamond City."
"You guys might also recognize her from Kingdom Hearts," reminded Mona, "but anyway, her being present at the arcade center makes it safe for all friends and families. I'm sure she won't mind you two covering for her to make sure there aren't any hoodlums stirring up trouble."
"I wish I could take you with me and our two Bouncing Ball Buddies," 9-Volt told Phoebe, "but my mom can only afford so much for our vacation now. We'll buy some souvenirs for you, 18-Volt, Kat, Ana, Pit, and Phosphora."
"Don't forget Cheerful White and Cute Pink, 9-Volt." the Bomberman fan girl reminded him with a warm hug. "Enjoy your vacation!"
As Phoebe walked out the door with the star-crossed lovers of Skyworld, 5-Volt asked, "Are you headed back home next door?"
"No, but I'm gonna volunteer with Pit and Phosphora at Diamond Arcade World for a couple hours. Penny Crygor and Blaze Bomber are gonna need someone to look after the receptionist desk, while they're working with Dr. Crygor to fix up the light gun games. Besides, it's no fun if the controllers aren't calibrated right, especially with older games like Area 51 or Maximum Force."
"Alright, Phoebe. I understand. Wario, Waluigi, Mona, you know where to get the food for the kids, right?" The threesome nodded in response. "Good."
And so, 5-Volt left the house with 9-Volt, Keyla, and Patricia in tow, which got Maya thinking they were going to see their fairy friends, the Winx Club, in Alfea. Pit, on the other hand, assured the 5-year-old Flying Girl that it's simply a fun vacation, regardless of where 9-Volt's mom had planned on taking him, Keyla and Patricia to. Then he left with Phosphora and Phoebe to do their volunteer work at Diamond Arcade World. Thus, only Wario, Waluigi, and Mona remained to look after the Lower Birth.
"Oh, this is gonna be sooo fun." said the lanky man in purple, with an obvious hint of sarcasm.
"Ahhh, quit yer complaining, bro." shushed Wario. "I'm no babysitter either, but so what? All we gotta do is keep them happy and presto!"
"It's not as easy as it sounds, Wario," reminded Mona, "and this is from my years of experience. I, too, had to take responsibility when I was still 9-Volt's babysitter, but I did it out of love and care. He wasn't just another little kid…he was more like a little brother to me."
Wario scoffed. "Meh. I still think Princess Peach is a better choice than me and Waluigi. You know she likes people!"
"She was, but 5-Volt couldn't get a hold of her or Daisy. They're out playing golf with Mario and Luigi for old time's sake."
"Something tells me this is going to be one of those days." shrugged Waluigi.
He didn't enjoy the idea of babysitting children, knowing how often he got his jollies from pulling mischievous acts on Luigi during competitive events.
Just then, Maya popped up. "Can you three tell me a story about fairies?"
"Uh-uh, not me. I don't wanna."
"You're no fun!" The girl childishly puffed up her cheeks like a Jigglypuff with her mouth closed.
"Ugh, just play along already, Waluigi! You know how much I hate getting chewed out by 9-Volt's mommy every time something rubs her the wrong way!"
Waluigi shrugged, rolling his eyes in response to Wario's rant. "…Fine, party-pooper."
Maya opened her mouth to let out the air from her cheeks. "YAY!"
"Well, Maya," said Mona, "you and your friends are gonna love the story we're about to tell you."
"I'm not into fairy stories, I'm going outside to play with my wand." Valerie had Valyn, Claudia, Jill, and Steven agree with her.
This meant Wario and Waluigi had to go outside and watch them too, but this did free them from telling a sickly-sweet fairy story, which was fine by them! Plus, all Valerie did outside was wave her wand around to light up, shoot paper stars, and glitter around as she sang. For an emotionless 10-year-old girl, she had a powerful voice.
"I can't believe 5-Volt left us with tweedle "I'm-a gonna' win" and tweedle 'I like to blow shit up with bombs'." Not one of Steven's funniest jokes, but it still made Jill giggle nonetheless.
"You like bombs too, Steven." Claudia pointed out.
"Not as much as Wa…luigi. Is that how it's pronounced?" Jill and Claudia nodded to his question. "What kind of name is that, anyway? I mean, I know I made fun of 9-Volt, 5-Volt, 18-Volt, Phosphora, Pit, and Blaze Bomber, but honestly, some of these names are really strange!"
"If your so upset about it, why don't we play a little prank of our own?" Jill grinned mischievously.
With Jaclyn, John, Daniel, Maya, Ann, Anne, Violet, Page, Paul, Corey, Austin, Franklin, Francesca, and Vanessa, the Lower Birth cooked up a simple prank, but they made sure Mona knew they weren't going to trash the house or hurt Wario and Waluigi. One night, Wario, Waluigi, and Mona had put the Lower Birth to bed, but heard them up about and hours later, downstairs and a familiar jingling sound: MONEY! In the living room, the Lower Birth were diving in and out of a sea of Gold Coins! Of course, being the greedy cheaters they are, Wario and Waluigi demanded the Lower Birth go to bed now and sleep! Playing along, the kids looked downhearted, but obeyed.
As soon as the two were about to line their pockets with the gold, it started disappearing! It wasn't real and they could hear the Lower Birth just outside the door way, cheering "Gotcha!"
"That's what you get for being greedy cheaters!" Valyn snapped.
"Money isn't everything. You think you're so great, Wario and Waluigi? Try being better MEN!" Valerie emprises Wario and Waluigi should try being a better people.
"Agh, they got us good!" whined Waluigi.
"Cheaters!" complained Wario, who then looked at Mona in the eyes. "Wait…you actually encouraged them to play that trick on us all along?"
"9-Volt's mom did say there shouldn't be any roughhousing around, so the prank's fair enough."
"Bah, humbug! Where'd they learn to out-prank me and Waluigi, the home of the Winx Club? I dunno what your 'little brother' sees in them anyhoo…"
"No, they thought of it themselves. Well, Maya sorta thought of what the Alfea fairies would do in a situation like this, but still."
"Keyla taught me and Patricia plenty," said Maya, "but I wanted to be with them and 9-Volt…"
"I'm sure they're thinking about you during their vacation. Here, this'll help you dream better." Mona handed the little blonde a big, pink bouncy ball she knew all too well. "What was the name of your ball again?"
"Sweet Pink Fairy Princess of Dreams," answered Maya, hugging her ball lovingly.
"I'm gonna ralph." muttered Waluigi, but Mona was quick to grab a book from a nearby shelf and slam it on a table, signaling him to stop complaining about wanting to throw up in disgust. "What?!"
"Either this or no Overwatch for both of you as a Christmas gift." The redhead knew how much Wario wanted the team-based first-person shooter game for his PC, simply because of its quirky cast of characters to play as, and the fact that it was technically based on the ever-popular Team Fortress 2. "We made a promise before we came to 9-Volt's house, remember?"
"D'oh!" Wario whined to himself. "I can't pass up the offer to get that game now...Ohhh, alright!" Sometimes, he and Waluigi didn't know who or what they detested more: Not getting rich, or not getting a new game they coveted so much.
"You're very mean to people just like Icy, Darcy and Stormy in the fairy story Auntie Mona told me!" scolded the 5-year-old Flying Girl.
Mona blushed at what Maya had just called her, leading her to tuck in the child to bed in 9-Volt's room. "Don't worry, Maya; I'll make sure they're kept in line at 9-Volt's house on his mom's behalf, for as long as I live. That's what big sisters do for little brothers. Before we founded WarioWare Inc. alongside my boyfriend, I taught 9-Volt everything I know about video games – mainly Nintendo ones – in addition to bowling, mini-golf, go-kart, laser-tag…even good cartoon shows! Now, I think Princess Stella's waiting for you in dreamland, so let's get all cuddled up in bed and ready to sleep…"
Maya held her pink ball closer to herself like a plush toy. "Is it gonna be in her bouncy ball kingdom like in the fairy story you told me?"
"Mm-hmm. She and Princess Bloom rule it benevolently as best friends while keeping it safe from the selfish Trix witches and all the young fairies are welcome there every day. Plus, they get to play with big bouncy balls, beach balls and hopper balls!" As far as Mona knew about Winx Club, there never really was a "bouncy ball kingdom" in Alfea, but she didn't want Maya to feel left out, since 5-Volt could only afford to take 9-Volt, Keyla, and Patricia with her on vacation.
So, Mona, Wario and Waluigi did their best to entertain the children with bedtime stories. Valerie, Jaclyn, John, Daniel, Ann, Anne, Violet, Page, Paul, Corey, Austin, Franklin, Francesca, and Vanessa slept side-by-side in bed, but Valyn slept in a circle of her wolves, Jill had to sleep in a human-sized fish tank and Maya was tied down to the bed, so she wouldn't float away in her sleep. Mona thought at first that having Maya hold onto a tenpin bowling ball would be more dignified than tying her down to the bed, but quickly passed it up for as long as the ropes kept her snugly and not uncomfortably tight. It probably might be better than the risk of damaging the bed frame (even though it was sturdy on its own) with the heavy weight of the large ball, and 5-Volt surely wouldn't appreciate it.
"Hey, where's Steven?" Wario noticed the black-haired boy was not in bed with the others, but Valerie pointed to the foot of the bed where Steven was curled up like; a cat, already asleep.
Finally, after 10 minutes, all of the Lower Birth were asleep. Mona, Wario, and Waluigi tip-toed as quietly as they could out of the bedroom, making sure to leave a night light on for the younger children, who were afraid of the dark. The rest of the week passed, with more or less trouble, but it seemed everyone had the most fun when playing video games! Used to playing a mountain of games at Ms. Perivelle's, the Lower Birth always challenged Wario and Waluigi to the competitive games…and often beat them! However, the day before 5-Volt was to return with the 9-Volt, Keyla, and Patricia, Wario and Waluigi ran into the kitchen, panicking: The Lower Birth were gone!
"Relax. They just went to the store to get some supplies. They may be young, but with their powers, they'll be fine." Mona smiled.
Wario wanted to ask, "What supplies?", but a horn sounded outside. Rushing out, the three saw Steven had blown the horn as he was holding it up and grinning. Valyn's animals, Franklin, Francesca, and Vanessa were pulling an enormous something forward, under a sheet!
Valerie walked in front of it and began to speak as she usually did before a performance: Steady, loud and clear, "Mona, Wario, Waluigi, we want to thank you for taking such good care of us. So, this gift is for all of you!"
The Lower Birth yanked on the sheet and underneath was a towering, 24-karat golden statue of Wario, Walugi, and Mona, posing together, chiseled almost perfectly! Below into the base was carved the words WarioWare Inc. For a few minutes, no one said anything because it was so wonderful how the Lower Birth managed to make this in just a week and without any of them knowing, even Mona was shocked.
"Do you like it?" Maya asked with her hands clasped in a prayer-like way, worried they're silence meant they didn't like it.
"Well…it's a pretty good start…" Wario examined the statue. "It…it…aww, heck! You really outdid yourselves this time, and I mean in a good way!"
"Yeah, not bad at all!" added Waluigi.
However, Mona remained quiet the most…with tears coming out of her eyes in happiness. That moment somehow made her recall the time she was overworked and having to juggle between her part-time job at an ice cream shop (the Gelateria) and the one at WarioWare Inc., all during the development stages on the company's very first game with its batch of 200 microgames divided across 11 stages. Wario's house was a mess, and she usually had to clean up after Wario because he was often "busy" with his personal stuff. But to her very surprise, 9-Volt had spent what remained of his free time, helping her around the house by doing the chores for her.
Even when she was no longer his babysitter on the day the company was founded, he never gave up on her as his "big sister" figure. It was an unusual sight for the then 8-year-old child (whereas he's 9 to this day) to be doing all the chores in the entire house, but he did them out of kindness after everything she had done for him whenever his mother had to be at work. Mona didn't want him to suffer from having to clean up after their boss…and yet somehow, she felt happiness with tears in her eyes. He really did care about her like any good-hearted sibling would, just like she cared a lot about him.
He needed not ask anything in return as a reward (or so she and his mom had taught him), much less a new video game, but what he got was a tender, motherly affection from her in the form of a big kiss to his forehead, and a warm hug. Therefore, she helped him finish the rest of the chores, keeping their sibling relationship afloat and strong as ever, as they headed off on her scooter to Diamond City Lanes for a friendly bowling game. It was then and there that 9-Volt asked if their disco-loving friend, Jimmy Thang (as the "T" in his last name stood for), could put in a variety of sports-themed microgames out of love for sports, then it wouldn't hurt if Mona tried her hand at one in the next WarioWare game. She believed it to be a brilliant idea, and decided she would call this microgame "Pro Bowling" – and that came into fruition later in WarioWare: Touched! on Nintendo DS.
Mona put her train of thought aside, having felt the same way she did in the past when she saw the golden statue in front of her. "Awww…that's very sweet of you, Maya!" She knelt to the little blonde's level and wrapped her arms around the 5-year-old Flying Girl in a warm hug.
"If m-my Bouncing Ball Buddy, 9-Volt, could make you happy…I can do it too. P-Princesses Bloom and Stella told me in my dream that returning the favor out of kindness works wonders. We were practicing my combination of fairy and wind powers while playing with their stash of bouncy balls and beach balls, when they taught me the good lesson! Th-thank you for your fairy stories, Auntie Mona!"
"You can use fairy magic now?" asked Wario and Waluigi in surprise.
"Well…I-I'm still learning since my enchanted bouncy ball isn't as powerful as Heaven's Light, b-but Keyla and Patricia believe in me. I can feel it in my heart that we'll become the next generation of Magical Girls someday…M-me, Keyla and Patricia…"
"We're all proud of you, Maya," said Mona. "You really came through and worked with all your friends to make such a lovely gift for us."
Maya blushed upon hearing those words. "It was all thanks to Keyla and Patricia's important advice that sharing and caring make a friendship last for a long time."
"Mm-hmm. In your case, since you're learning a lot from them, being a Bouncing Ball Buddy doesn't necessarily mean you gotta know all sorts of ball-balancing acts. It's sharing bouncy balls and giving them great care as you play with them that counts. And by recalling those lessons, you alone helped share your happiness with me, Wario and Waluigi…"
THE END